Art vending business Parchment Studio proves good things come in small packages

Last spring, Brusly High School biology teacher Elizabeth Bankhead was looking around for a creative side hustle when she came across the sticker machine trend. Retro sticker and temporary tattoo machines were being used to deploy tiny works of art at weddings, events and stationary locations. Enthusiastic users could quickly retrieve charming keepsake images for just a little loose change.

“I thought it was a super cute idea,” says Bankhead, 27. “I thought it would be a great way to make some extra money and spread a little bit of art around the community.”

The trend has precedent in the Red Stick. A similar phenomenon landed in 2013 with the addition of an Art-o-Mat at Baton Rouge Gallery, a decommissioned cigarette vending machine retooled by a North Carolina artist to hold small box-shaped works created by artists from around the country. BRG installed a second Art-o-Mat at the Baton Rouge Metro Airport in 2013. There are more than 200 such machines nationwide.

For her project, Bankhead searched for original vending machines to retrofit, but she came up short. She opted instead for three reproduction models, which she began filling with 2 x 3-inch block prints. Her linocut images, inspired by Louisiana flora, fauna and foodways, have included an alligator, a can of Blue Runner beans, a bottle of Louisiana Hot Sauce, a crawfish and other whimsically rendered regional imagery. She named her new business Parchment Studio.

“It’s just really fun for people to have something to keep and display,” she says. “You can keep them in your car or on your fridge. It’s a cool thing to have.”

Two of Bankhead’s machines are set up at Light House Coffee in Baton Rouge, her favorite place to study while at LSU, and at the venerable Court of Two Sisters in New Orleans. The French Quarter restaurant’s media team reached out to Bankhead after spotting her project on TikTok, she says.

Bankhead reserves one machine for pop-ups, events and weddings. For these, she can further customize the mini artworks to suit a bride and groom or occasion.

Each machine can hold up to 450 pieces, so Bankhead quickly adapted a digital system to reproduce her designs. For Bankhead, inspiration is never far, and she’s constantly adding to her mini art gallery of prints.

Keeping the machines full can be a challenge, she says, adding that she’s had to recruit her mom, sister and brother to pitch in. But it’s been satisfying for the artist—just as it’s satisfying to slide a few quarters into a machine in exchange for something small and beautiful.

“It’s been a real passion project for me,” Bankhead says. “And it’s just a great fit for our rich Louisiana culture.”

This article was originally published in the January 2026 issue of 225 Magazine.